


i'm glad you did

by xogray



Series: percabeth oneshots [8]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Book 4: The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson), F/M, Kinda, Love Confessions, POV Annabeth Chase, gods im bad w tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:27:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25479166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xogray/pseuds/xogray
Summary: "and i realized... if you died, i never would be able to kiss you. so i did."his eyes softened and he smiled at her, a little shy. "oh," he whispered. they were silent as they looked at each other for a moment. then percy took her hand again and said, "i'm glad you did."- or the one in which annabeth allows herself to be vulnerable
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Series: percabeth oneshots [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1839274
Comments: 5
Kudos: 152





	i'm glad you did

"can we stop for a few hours?" rachel asked. "please? i just... i need to sleep."

annabeth rolled her eyes. she looked back at the redhead, about to make some snarky comment, but stopped herself. rachel looked exhausted.

"fine," annabeth said, taking pity on her. 

"thanks," rachel said. she quickly laid down, her back against the wall. she put her arm under her head and was seemingly out within seconds. percy and annabeth both sat with their backs against the wall adjacent to rachel. annabeth looked at her for a moment silently before looking at percy.

"you can sleep too if you want," she said. "i'll keep watch." percy just shook his head. 

"i'm fine," he said quietly. their shoulders were touching ever so slightly. "do you wanna sleep? or lay down at least?" 

she hesitated. she did want to lay down. but she also didn't want to leave him awake and alone.

"i'm okay," she said quietly. it didn't sound very convincing, but percy nodded anyways. they were silent for a while, until annabeth finally decided to spit out a thought that's been in the back of her mind since percy returned.

"were you on calypso's island?"

she felt percy tense up next to her. he was quiet for a minute. "yeah," he whispered eventually. annabeth just nodded.

"i knew you weren't dead," she muttered. he looked at her.

"what do you mean?"

"i just... i don't know. i had this feeling. despite what everyone was saying, i _knew_ you were alive." she looked at him. the only light was from a flashlight they had pointed at the ceiling of the corridor. it created a dim light around them and it made percy's eyes look darker than they actually were. "even when we... when chiron told me we needed to burn you shroud and stop waiting, i... i wanted to argue with him. because i knew you weren't dead."

"why didn't you?" he whispered.

"i thought maybe i was going crazy. or maybe i was just being too hopeful. so i tried to look at it logically. regardless of what i felt, i knew the chances of you really being alive were slim, so..." she trailed off. percy nodded, looking back at the wall in front of them. annabeth looked at him for a few seconds longer before also turning away.

they were silent for another minute. she closed her eyes for a while, but they nearly shot open when she felt percy grab her hand and lace their fingers together. she stayed silent, looking at their hands in the dim light. if anyone asked her, she'd deny it, but her heart beat a little faster and her stomach fluttered at the contact. 

annabeth hesitated before looking over at him. he was looking at their hands, as if he hadn't been the one to hold hers. she looked back at the wall. she bit her lip before tightening her grip on percy's hand. he responded by doing the same. she allowed a small smile to play on her lips as she got used to the feeling his hand in hers.

they were silent for a while. annabeth felt herself begin to fall asleep, and each time, she would jerk her head back up. after the fourth or fifth time of this happening, percy sighed.

"lay down, annabeth."

she sat up straighter and shook her head. "no, i'm fine."

"come here, you can..." he said quietly. "you can put your head on my lap. instead of the ground. if you want."

his voice was so quiet and shy, it made her heart burst. she didn't say anything as she let go of his hand and shifted, laying down and putting her head on his thigh. she faced the ceiling. despite the fact that she had been falling asleep before, she felt wide awake now as percy pushed her baby hairs off her forehead. he looked down at her. 

"you can sleep," he said quietly. 

"no," she whispered. "i'm not tired anymore."

he smiled. "okay," he said. "i'm surprised you actually laid down. i thought you were gonna, like, punch me or something."

she chuckled. "i thought about it," she said. she hadn't actually. but it was easier to say that than admit how her heart had jumped when he offered to let her lay on him. they were quiet for some time again. and then percy broke the silence.

"you kissed me."

annabeth tensed a little. she hadn't expected him to bring that up. especially not while her head was in his lap and his hand was still pushing her hair back. she sat up quickly, leaving her back turned to him. something about discussing their kiss while already feeling so vulnerable didn't sit right with her.

"sorry," percy whispered. "i just... was thinking about it."

she shifted so she was sitting with her back against the wall again, a little more distance between them now.

"yeah," she said. "i did."

they were silent. 

annabeth cleared her throat. "maybe we should wake rachel up and keep moving," she said, but made no move to do so. 

"why did you?" he asked her. she looked at him and they locked eyes. 

"should i not have?" she whispered. dread filled her and she looked away. she thought about the girl still asleep a few feet away from them. she wondered if percy felt the same way for rachel as annabeth felt for him.

his eyes widened a little. "no, that's not what i meant," he said quickly. "i wanted- i mean, it was... it was okay that you did. i just... wanted to know."

annabeth straightened her back. she felt like she could breathe a little easier now, at least knowing he wasn't repulsed by her.

"i thought you might die," she admitted. "i acted on impulse, but... all i could think was that you might die. and i..." the words died on her tongue. she felt too vulnerable and exposed telling him this. she looked back over at him, hoping he couldn't see her blush in the dim light. she realized looking into his eyes, she was allowed to be vulnerable. it was just percy.

"and i realized... if you died, i never would be able to kiss you. so i did."

his eyes softened and he smiled at her, a little shy. "oh," he whispered. they were silent as they looked at each other for a moment. then percy took her hand again and said, "i'm glad you did."

she felt her cheeks heat up and she held his hand tighter. "yeah?" she whispered.

"yeah." he let go of her hand and gently grabbed her face in his hands. her breath hitched a little as he kissed her softly. her hand came up to hold his wrist gently. they stayed that way for a minute. annabeth couldn't ignore how quick her heart was beating. eventually, he pulled back and looked at her. she couldn't stop herself from smiling.

"that's a lot better when i'm not scared of you dying," she said, making him laugh. her giddiness was quickly cut short when they heard a loud noise from down the corridor. it sounded like heavy rocks crumbling, or like the ceiling had collapsed. it woke rachel up and annabeth quickly pulled away from percy. it was one thing to be vulnerable and soft in front of him, but she wouldn't dare to let rachel see her like that. 

"well, good morning," rachel said, standing up. "i think it's time we go."


End file.
